End the winter with a walk in the woods along Orchard Lake

FYI

Orchard Lake Sanctuary is open dawn to dusk. No permit or fee. Dogs not permitted. Entrance on north side of Pontiac Trail Road, west of Orchard Lake Road and east of Arrowhead Road. Arrowhead is the road leading to the West Bloomfield Woods Nature Preserve. For more information, visit www.cityoforchardlake.com.

My hiking history with Orchard Lake (not the Village of Orchard Lake, but the real lake) goes back almost two decades to the day I meandered along the frozen shoreline and was stunned by what I encountered as I prepared to snowshoe out to Apple Island from a steep ridge top on the southern shore.

Back then — and I must sound like an old timer using those two words — a solid freeze of this lake with a rich natural and human history was common. I found coyote tracks that day. It took a moment for me to accept that reality because back then coyotes were just begin to appear in our county of great oaks and numerous lake. They were truly shadows in the dark — to some, figments of over active imaginations.

Abundant geese and small mammals that thrived in our landscaping practices changed all that for predators follow the prey. Today the eastern coyote is well established and sometimes treks the same trails we follow.

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Much has changed since that coyote track encounter. Osprey and eagles have returned to our county. Greenway is a common word as new parklands have been protected and linked by trails. I feel fortunate to have travelled wide and far in my never ending need to meander the wilds ---and sometimes the not so wild. Almost five years have passed since I reached the icy ramparts of Kilimanjaro and two years have zipped by since cinching my backpack straps tight near the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea just a few miles south of the Lebanon and four days later waded into the Sea of Galilee. That wonderful border hugging adventure on Israel’s Sea to Sea Trail has fueled my passion for more.

But some things have not changed. And good adventures that last less than 30 minutes can be found in our urban wilds just minutes from over-priced coffee shops. The Village of Orchard Lake has such a place.

The view from an overlook on the northern perimeter of the Orchard Lake Nature Sanctuary is little changed. And every time I return—which is not very often, I reminisce about those vanguard coyotes. Late last Monday afternoon I detoured on the way home from an indoor day in Madison Heights to pay a visit to Orchard Lake and refresh at this 50 acres sanctuary that is almost hidden in plain sight. Snowshoes would have made my quick visit easier but I trudged along in a landscape of huge oaks, numerous shagbark hickory trees and evergreens. Native white pines defined the skyline. And planted Norway spruce stood in neat rows like soldiers in formation. And under many trees, wildlife tracks.

Many local residents call this protected area “The Sanctuary. A colorful sign board at the trail head has an accurate map and a lone portajohn is all but hidden in the SE corner of the small parking lot. A great display of flowers, some native, some exotic, will emerge after the snow melt. That may take time but for now the sanctuary and the overlook are perfect for a quick hike on small meandering primitive trails. Former owner Harold Ward would be happy to know that the land remains as he wished, “Protected for the benefit of children yet unborn.”

In this final full week of winter the sanctuary remains a place of solitude and amidst the palatial homes of Orchard Lake Village. It’s the kind of place one can get lost in their thoughts; but it is also the kind of place that might have inspired Thoreau to pen his words, “What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods.”

About the Author

Jonathan Schechter, a member of the Mich. Outdoor Writers Association and the Wilderness Medical Society, is a certified Wilderness EMT and has a Master’s in forest resources from U. of Washington. Reach the author at oaknature@aol.com
or follow Jonathan on Twitter: @OaklandNature.